There Was a Time
by FettsOnTop
Summary: A collection of Fett/Leia stories based on Meeting Like This. You should probably read that first if you don't want to be really confused.
1. When they couldn't keep it quiet

There Was a Time_ is a collection of one shots, short fics, drabbles, future fics and missing scenes based on my Fett/Leia story Meeting Like This. Some of them were ideas I had that I couldn't fit into MLT, others are simply explorations of what their life together might have been like. I welcome your feedback, and your suggestions for future chapters. As always, thank you for indulging me._

_-GT (FettsOnTop)_

* * *

**There was a time...when they couldn't keep keep it quiet any longer**

"Homemade grenades," Mon Mothma observed with approval. "Wherever did you learn to make them, Leia?"

"On Hoth, actually." Leia tore a strip of cloth from her pale blue silk gown and stuffed into the narrow neck of a ceramic bulb vase as a stopper. "The pilots used to dip salvage pieces in tar and then make a firestarter out of oil and alcohol. If you put it a duracrete barrel, it would provide heat for almost six hours." She turned and carefully handed the bomb to Pooja Naberrie, Senator from Naboo and her biological cousin. "But if you put it in a glass vessel, it's a bomb."

"Thank you," Pooja said warily. "I think."

"Don't thank me. Thank whoever decided to put oil lamps in this room. Klo, how's the rope coming?"

"I'm not sure I see the wisdom in this," Senator Klo Kreebe grumbled. His cybernetic eye flickered rapidly as he tied on the final drapery. "Security forces have been called. We should wait here for them."

"We can't assume that they can get to the third floor." There was a muffled shriek of blaster fire, and everyone turned their attention back to the makeshift barricade blocking the doors. The conference room table, two sideboards and three shelves were made out of polished plasteel, another lucky break. But it wouldn't hold forever.

This was supposed to be a private conference at the Coral City retreat center to discuss the fact that Leia had been nominated to serve as Vice Chair in the Senate. The representatives would vote at the end of the final quarter, so they had barely a week to speculate on the voting breakdown and develop strategies. At the moment, however, there was the more pressing concern of the Noghri who tracked them to the Mon Calamari homeworld.

The first attack came out of nowhere, four armed Noghri stormed into the room, blasted the communications panel and demanded that Leia surrender herself. They weren't expecting her to be armed, and that alone saved her. Her triumph was short-lived when she realized they hadn't come alone. Kreebe used his cybernetic implant to contact security, but Leia wasn't holding her breath for their arrival.

She keyed in a distress call of her own from her commlink before she shut it down so the Noghri couldn't find her by sweeping for signals. She had no idea where her husband was currently. Luke, thank the Force, had Jonah and Kyd with him for the weekend, so at least her four-year old sons were safe. It was up to her to ensure that their mother returned to pick them up as promised. Leia took a deep, steadying breath and hefted the final homemade bomb as she turned grimly toward the barricade. "Ready?"

Mon Mothma took her place on one side of the upended table and Kreebe took the other. At Leia's nod, they leveraged it against a sideboard, creating a narrow opening at the top. Almost at once the blaster fire resumed, breaking through the top of the wooden doors and scorching the ceiling. Leia took a steadying breath and threw the grenade. It sailed through the jagged hole and crashed down out of sight in the hallway.

There were scuffling noises, then silence. Then the explosion.

"Go, go!" Leia gestured wildly as they ran for the windows. Kreebe's crude rope tumbled into the courtyard below. She went first, since was the only one with a blaster. The courtyard was empty, tall white pillars standing guard on either side of sea stone path. Pooja came down the rope next, her grenade tucked securely in her sash. Mon Mothma descended a few seconds later, her pale skin flushed and her breathing labored. Kreebe was about halfway down the rope when the doors at the southern end of the courtyard burst open and Noghri began to pour through.

"The north side! Go!" Leia took shelter behind a pillar and provided cover fire while Pooja and Mon Mothma ran for the opposite entrance.

Kreebe dropped to the ground beside her, his hand grasping frantically at her arm. "We'll never make it!"

"Oh yes we will." Leia swung around the pillar and fired repeatedly. Three Noghri fell to the ground while Kreebe ran for cover, but there were still too many of them of coming through. She was forced to retreat, using the pillars for cover. A blaster bolt hit the smooth white stone, only inches from her head, but it didn't leave much of a mark. A stun bolt. They wanted her alive.

"Leia!" Pooja screamed. "Run for it!"

She saw her cousin, standing brazenly out the open with her grenade held above her head. She flung it at at the south end of the courtyard, the glass shattered and Leia ran as fast she could for the doors. She made it just before the explosion, hot, foul smelling air rushed down the corridor as they all raced down the hall. They took shelter in another conference room, but it wasn't as well furnished as the one on the second floor.

"What do we do now?" Mon Mothma asked, and open-ended question that no one really had an answer to.

"The lift to the docking bay is at the south end of the courtyard," Pooja reminded them. "Maybe the bomb got them all, maybe-"

"There could be more at the docking bay," Leia said, trying to catch her breath. "They have to be coming from somewhere."

"It would be exceptionally helpful," Mon said thoughtfully, "if we knew what they were after."

"Senator Organa," Kreebe spoke up. "Forgive me for not bringing this to your attention before...but there have been rumors that a bounty has recently been offered for your capture."

"It wouldn't be the first time," she said wryly.

"No...but...Noghri are mercenary creatures, are they not? Its possible that they're working for someone."

"I suppose so." Leia checked her blaster. It was a small weapon, and the charges couldn't hold out for much longer.

"As I'm sure you are aware, I have many sources throughout the galaxy, fellow borgs who gather information in the cantinas and cafes all across the star systems. Last week a source brought me disturbing news, but I admit I didn't give it much weight at the time. You are so adored, Senator, by your people and by your friends in the core, it was unthinkable-"

"What news?" Leia cut him off, and the cyborg had the nerve to look wounded.

"Klo, we don't have time for speeches," Mon Mothma reminded him gently. "If you have information that could help us, please share it."

Kreebe nodded, and licked his lips. "The source said that a bounty hunter has been contracted to remove you by any means necessary. They say he's the best. The 'top of the food chain,' if you will."

Leia stared at him. He was sweating profusely, but so was she. "Did your source tell you his name?"

"Boba Fett."

She almost laughed. As welcome as the break in tension would have been, the sobering realization soon followed that either Kreebe's sources were lying...or Kreebe himself was. The cyborg had served nearly four terms in the senate, two before the Imperial dissolvement and two since. He was known as "Senator Coat Tails" among the pages and interns, and Leia had no delusions about his loyalty, but what reason would he have to concoct such a lie? And why was he sharing this information now?

"Wait a minute," Mon Mothma frowned. "I feel I've heard that name before. That's not the same bounty hunter that froze Captain Solo in carbonite? The one you spent months chasing all over the galaxy?"

"I think the carbonite was Vader's idea," she replied vaguely, rubbing at a nonexistent spot on the grip of the blaster. "But yes, it's the same man."

"Then it is possible that this bounty hunter might be holding a grudge."

Leia took a deep breath. "That was never about me. Jabba the Hutt put a price on Han's head, and Fett collected. Besides, that was nearly eight years ago." She edged out into the doorway and took a quick peek around the corner. The corridor was empty, the doors to the courtyard still hanging open. She could smell the remnants of the grenade, but she could see nothing beyond the doors. "I think we should check the courtyard. If they are coming up the docking bay lift, maybe we can rig up some sort of trap."

"Agreed," Mon Mothma said.

They edged slowly out into the hallway, but Pooja caught Leia's arm and held her back a few steps. "There's something I have to tell you about this Fett business."

Leia suppressed a sigh. "Can it wait? We've got our hands full of danger at the moment."

"That's why I have to tell you now. If something happens to me...I don't know who else could warn you." Her cousin hugged tight to her side, speaking in a low voice. "I was only a child when Padme died, but it wasn't my first funeral. Two years earlier, there was an assassination attempt, and Padme's friend and bodyguard Corde died in her place." Pooja shook her head. "Corde was a lovely person, always so kind. Her death was very hard for all of us."

There was a sinking feeling in Leia's stomach. "I've heard a little about it."

"Master Kenobi tracked the attack to a bounty hunter called Jango Fett. It was while he was investigating this bounty hunter that he discovered the cloning facility on Kamino. Jango Fett was their genetic template, you see. Master Kenobi said he kept one of the clones for himself, and treated him like a son."

"That's very interesting, but I still don't see-"

"Don't you? It must be Boba Fett. Jango Fett tried and failed to murder your mother and now his clone is coming after you."

"Pooja, no, he isn't."

"Don't be so quick to dismiss it. Stranger things have happened in this galaxy."

Kreebe fell back beside them. "This bounty hunter is feared far and wide across the Outer Rim. They say he never fails to bring back his quarry, dead or alive. He cannot be bought, bargained or reasoned with."

"Yes. Well, reputation is everything in his trade." Leia replied, then added weakly, "or so I've heard."

"It does seem that there are too many connections for the theory to be ignored," Mon Mothma said reasonably. "We must take any threats to your safety very seriously from now on."

"Yes," said Kreebe sadly. "If anything happened to you…we would carry on your legacy of course, but every step would be agony."

Leia stared at the cyborg for a few seconds, wondering if her sense of immediate danger was making her see things. "Does it seem strange to any of you that we haven't seen any security personnel?"

Kreebe's cybernetic eye blinked. "I sent the distress call. Perhaps the Noghri have cut communications."

"They must have," Leia agreed without taking her eyes off of him. "In fact. I've changed my mind. We should double back and head to the security station." She turned decisively and started walking back down the hall. Mothma and Pooja were quick to follow, Kreebe was not.

"B-but Senator, we're so close. The courtyard is just here-" He scrambled toward the doors, still partially ajar.

"No!" Leia barely had time to bring her blaster up as he flung the doors open.

The courtyard was empty except for the charred and smoking bodies Pooja's grenade had left behind. Kreebe was cowering in the corner, but after a moment he dropped his arms and stared out the door, his cybernetic eye blinking wildly.

"There's the southern entrance" Mon Mothma pointed across the yard. "The path is clear. I think we have to risk it."

They moved slowly out into the courtyard. The smooth sea stones were scorched black from the explosion, the white pillars stained with gray.

"What a terrible ordeal," Kreebe muttered. "And it's far from over. Mark my words, Senator. This only the beginning. With this bounty hunter after you-"

"_Enough_." Leia was at the end of her patience, her nerves on edge. "Boba Fett is _not_ hunting me. I don't want to hear another word about it."

"How can you be so sure?" Mon Mothma asked with a slight frown.

"I-"

"Wait. Do you hear that?" Pooja pointed toward the opposite end of the courtyard where the doors to the lift waited. They all froze. "Blasters! It must be security!"

Leia quickly looked to Kreebe, but the cyborg was backing away, his natural eye wide.

The doors splintered outward, and they all ducked for cover as the partially dismembered corpse of a Nogari burst through, propelled by the jet pack of the armored man using him as a shield. Boba Fett landed on one knee, holding the bloody body up with his left arm. His infrared sensor was down, his rifle ready.

For a few airless seconds no one moved. Fett slowly stood, and dropped the Noghri corpse. It made a sound like wet meat when it hit the stones. His armor was splattered with blood and gore, a fresh scratch across his breastplate from a Noghri pike. He looked like a nightmare in human form, and Leia was sure she had never been so happy to see someone in her life.

She shook herself free from Pooja's grasp and ran to her husband, barely hearing her cousin's cry of alarm. She threw her arms around Fett's neck. "Have I ever told you that your reliability is one of your most attractive qualities?"

He was breathing hard, something she was only aware of because she was pressed so tightly against him. "Your friends are staring."

"I don't care."

He put his hand on her back, taking in the burnt bodies around them. "Kuati cocktails," he noted approvingly.

"More or less." She reluctantly let go and turned around to face the others. She always knew this day would come, although she never envisioned it happening quite like this. Pooja's face was as white as snow, and Mon Mothma seemed numb with shock. Kreebe still looked terrified.

"Chancellor Mon Mothma, Senator Pooja Naberrie, Senator Klo Kreebe...this is my husband. Boba Fett."

The only sound that could be heard was the slow drip of blood from Fett's wrist gauntlet to the stone path.

Mon Mothma regained her ability to speak first. "But…That's not...We've spoken about your husband many times. _Many_ times. You told me…" She stopped abruptly and shook her head in disbelief. "Everything but his name. I knew he was a bounty hunter. Now that I think about it, you even told me that used to work for the Empire."

"I didn't want to lie about it," Leia said quietly. "I promised myself I wouldn't. To be honest, I never expected to get away with it for this long."

"Yes, well. You were quite masterfully evasive."

Pooja folded her arms over her chest and hugged herself, her lips a thin line. "No wonder you never brought him to Naboo to meet the rest of your family."

"The Mandalorians have a saying," she returned with a sharp note of warning in her voice. "'Family is more than blood.'"

Kreebe was beginning to recover. "T-this is...this will be quite a scandal. Even if you never lied...it will still reflect badly on you, being married to a...man of his...class."

Leia ignored him and turned back to Fett. "That reminds me, did you see any security forces on your way in?"

"They're still sitting on their asses in the security center. The Noghri looped the holocam feeds."

"Did they cut off communications to the center?"

"No. That would have set off the system alarms."

Mon Mothma seemed to be catching on. "Senator Kreebe…you said you were able to get a distress call in to the center. You said it was confirmed."

"I did...I mean I thought I did." Kreebe drew himself up, but his voice wavered. "I don't like what you're implying, Chancellor."

Leia put a hand on her hip and stared icily at the cyborg. "He also had the nerve to tell me that there was bounty on my head, and that you had been contracted to kill me."

Fett turned his head just slightly, aiming the t-shaped visor toward the cyborg. He spoke in a flat monotone. "Is that so."

Kreebe swallowed visibly. "My sources-"

"We'll need to talk about these _sources_," Leia cut him off. "It's one thing to try to scare me into backing away from the Vice Chair nomination, but to hire an entire squad of Noghri assassins seems like overkill."

"Y-uou can't possibly think that I had anything to do with this. I'm a member of the Galactic Senate!"

"I don't think he's the client," Fett said flatly. "But they might have the same employer. I found a holorecording on one of their bodies. The encryption is high-grade Imperial."

"The resurgence," Leia acknowledged with a grimace. "Why would they come after me now?"

"We have a number of excellent decryptionists in Coruscant," Mon Mothma offered. "I'm sure they can crack the recording."

"They can have it when I'm done with it," Fett replied shortly. Leia gave him a look, and he tilted his head in a meager concession toward politeness, "...Chancellor."

To Leia's relief, her friend looked amused. "You've done the Republic a great service by helping to uncover this conspiracy, Master Fett. Not to mention your very…" her eyes strayed back to the bloody Noghri corpse on the ground, "...effective rescue tactics. You should be rewarded for your efforts. I don't suppose you'd like a medal?"

"No," they answered at the same time. Leia covered her mouth, her cheeks warm. Fett continued without hesitation. "If you want to reward me, my preference is credits."

"That's a shame," Mon Mothma replied congenially. "Although not much of a surprise. I do love a good award ceremony, and they make such marvelous holos for the press."

The last thing Leia wanted to do was invite speculation on her taste in men or gods forbid, comparison, by duplicating the award ceremony on Yavin IV. "As much as we appreciate the thought," she offered diplomatically. "It's out of the question."

Fett shifted at her side. "My interest in the affairs of the Republic extends as far as Leia's safety, and no further. In my business, it's better not to be seen as taking sides."

Mon Mothma arched an eyebrow at him. "Is this a recent stance? Your previous service to the Empire would indicate otherwise."

He was silent for a moment. "I took jobs posted by Darth Vader and other imperial agents because I knew they could pay. If you want my services, make an offer."

"I see," the chancellor replied thoughtfully. "Is it necessary to post such an offer on the galactic network, or may I make the offer to you in person?"

"Go ahead."

"Once we land in Coruscant, Senator Kreebe will be placed under arrest on suspicion of conspiracy and possibly treason."

"Mon Mothma-" The cyborg protested, but she silenced him with a sharp gesture, an ability that Leia had always envied. "I would like to ensure that he makes that appointment, and I feel certain you have the facilities aboard your ship to transport him."

"I do," Fett turned slightly toward the cyborg. "Under the circumstances, it would be my pleasure."

Kreebe made a soft, choking sound.

"I don't ask you to do it out of pleasure," Mon Mothma continued in a level tone."The Republic will pay for your time and service. I trust that he will be safely delivered into custody."

"As you wish, Chancellor." Fett unhooked a pair of binders from his belt and threw them at Kreebe, who let them clatter to the ground. "Put them on," Fett said in the cold monotone he reserved especially for his cargo. "Or I'll do it for you."

The cyborg slowly bent to retrieve them, his face drawn and gray. "Mon, please...we've been colleagues for seven years…"

"And as your colleague of seven years, I advise you to say nothing without your legal advisor present. You will have your chance to explain yourself in court." Mon Mothma turned and started towards the south gate, offering an aside to Leia as she passed. "I still think an award ceremony would have been brilliant."

Leia shook her head as she followed with Pooja. Fett nudged Kreebe with his rifle and the cyborg stumbled after them as they stepped over a charred Noghri corpse. "Why don't you get a medal?" Her husband asked bluntly. "Half these bodies are yours."

"Actually, these are Poojas. The ones on the third floor are mine, not that I'll ever say so on the record. It's not very senator-like to throw grenades."

"Sadly not," her cousin agreed. After a pause, she spoke again. "We could just all agree to keep quiet about it. About-" her eyes cut between Leia and Fett. "No one else has to know."

Kreebe looked up eagerly, sensing a bargaining chip. "I would be more than happy to come an agreement-"

"Silence," Fett growled.

"No," Leia replied slowly. "If I ask you to keep quiet now then I'm involving you in a cover up, and it's ticking time bomb from there on out. Boba?"

"I know what I signed up for."

"Thank you," she said with sincerity, resisting the impulse to stand on her toes and kiss the side of his helmet. He gave a slight nod and moved past her to guide Kreebe to the lift. Pooja hesitated, something clearly on her mind.

"Leia, I don't know if I can-"

Leia cut her off. "When we first found out that we were cousins, you told me that you didn't care who my father was. You said we would always be family. Boba and our sons are my family, and anyone who claims me as family claims them as well."

Her cousin gave her pained look. "They'll never elect you to the Vice Chair position if you go public with this."

"Maybe not this time," Leia acknowledged. "But the galaxy is changing, Pooja. The outer rim systems have more influence than they ever had in the old Republic. The day might come when the old guard stops setting the standards for the rest of us. And then it might not be such a scandal to be a bounty hunter's wife."

"Ladies," Mon Mothma called. "We should be going."

Leia lifted her skirts to step into the lift, and Pooja eyed her gown wryly as she stepped in next to her. "That dress is ruined."

She looked down at the rich blue silk, the hem torn and filthy, the front stained with blood. She glanced over at Fett, who was busy minding his prisoner and her lips curved into a smile. "I never liked it anyway."


	2. When Kyd was adopted

**When Kyd was adopted**

"This is all of it," the young Mandalorian Protector grunted as he picked up the final crate of glitterstim spice.

"Dump it with the rest." Fett took a last look around the squalid shack, the home of four spice smugglers with the poor judgement to think they could escape notice on Concordia.

Their bodies were already bagged and laid outside. Two men, two women. They died in a matter of minutes. Fenn Shysa's new law enforcers did their job well enough, his assistance was not required. He was here at the _Mand'alor'_s behest, something about boosting recruitment. Had he asked Fett directly, the answer would have been an immediate "no," but of course Shysa was too smart for that. He made his request through Leia.

"You'll be home in time for dinner," his wife said, and here he was. It was important that he was home for dinner, because this was the date Leia had designated several years ago as his "birthday." He tried pointing out that the name implied a biological function inapplicable to his situation, but it didn't seem to matter.

The result of this was that there would be bantha steaks for dinner, flown in, prepared and delivered by a local chef. There would be _uj_ cake, and after everything was cleaned up and Jonah was put to bed, there would birthday sex. Birthday sex meant he could have anything he wanted ("Anything?" He'd asked, skeptical. "Anything," she insisted. "Try me."). It was an opportunity he always gave full consideration to.

"Fett." His attention snapped over to the Protector waiting at the door. "Charges are set to blow."

"Body disposal?"

"Frever and Olen will take care of it."

"And the spice?"

"I'll see it dumped in the sewer with the rest of the osik." He hesitated. "We're all off to Treetop Village after this for a pint. You interested?"

"No."

"Didn't think so." He turned and left. Fett thought his armor looked familiar. One of Skirata's men, maybe. He started to follow him out, but something stopped him.

Some noise, barely more than an inhalation. A sniffle. He shifted his rifle into the crook of his elbow and lowered his infrared sight. Had they missed someone? And if so, _kriffing_ how?

There were no heat signatures on his display large enough to be human. In the corner was a battered case giving off glow. An animal maybe? A pet?

Carefully he moved closer, lifting his rifle up to his shoulder with one arm. His footsteps were silent on the duracrete floor. He put his fingers under the lid of the crate and flipped it up in one swift motion, sighting down the barrell at-

A child.

A human boy. Two years old, or maybe three. Jonah would be three in less than a month, but he was a solid, healthy boy. This child was obviously starved, his ribs could seen through his skin. He was wearing a crude diaper that obviously had not been changed in some time, and a fetid stench rose out of the crate.

He looked up at Fett, not the barrell of his rifle. There was no fear in his eyes, no protest. He would accept whatever came next. He knew nothing else.

* * *

Leia was on her knees in the kitchen, grimacing as she pulled another slimy strand of algae from her son's hair. "My _gods_," she muttered, shaking her head in disgust. Jonah imitated the gesture, sending droplets of muddy water flying from his dark curls.

"Stop that," Leia snapped. "Hold still."

She heard the front door open and close. "There you are," she called, wiping her hands on her pants. "Wait until you see what your son has gotten into this time. I swear-"

"Da!" Jonah wiggled free from her grasp and took off. "I went inna fish pond!" He skidded to a stop as Fett came around the corner, his delight becoming confusion when he saw that his father's arms were occupied.

"What-" Leia started to ask, then stopped, staring in shock at the skinny, filthy little boy wrapped in a ragged blanket. "Sit down," she said, her feet moving before she even knew what she was doing. She took a tray of gelatin cubes from the cupboard and put four on a plate. Fett sat at the table, holding the boy in his lap. Jonah hovered nearby with an expression of disapproval.

"Da. Pick me up."

"Jonah," Leia scolded. "Just wait a minute." She set the plate down in front of their visitor. The boy stared at them but didn't move. "Look," she coaxed, poking a cube with her finger and making it tremble. "Isn't that funny? It's okay, they're for you." She picked one up and bit the corner off. "Yummy. Go ahead." This time when she held it out, he took it and stuffed it in his mouth.

"Mama, I want some. I'm hungry," Jonah complained, rubbing his belly dramatically.

"No, you're not." Leia watched grimly as the boy stuffed the next cube in whole, and then gathered the last two in his fists and held them tight against his naked chest. "Where did he come from?"

"I found him in a crate at the compound."

She lowered her voice, carefully avoiding the word "mother" or "smuggler" in case the boy understood. "One of theirs…?"

"Maybe. Dead now, anyway."

"Does he talk?"

"Don't know. He hasn't said anything so far."

There was an awful sour smell that surrounded him, and an angry red rash climbing up his belly and back. Leia straightened. "There's a bath ready in the 'fresher. I'll find him some clothes."

Her steps were slow. It weighed heavily on her, the knowledge that anyone could treat a small child with such disregard. What would happen to him now?

Mandalorians had a long and honored tradition of adoption, but only within their own culture. This boy was _auretti_, an outsider. She supposed the medical center in Keldabe would do what they could for him before sending him back to his system of origin. Given the profession of his parents, it wasn't likely to be a nice place.

She pulled out a few items of clothing out of Jonah's closet, her eyes falling on the stuffed Ewok toy that had been a gift from her good friend Winter the last time she had Jonah in Coruscant with her. "I think I had a stuffed baby Ewok when I was young," Leia had mused.

"So did I," Fett offered. "Only it was an actual stuffed one." Thankfully Winter had laughed.

She often worried about her son, who spent most of his time bouncing back and forth between Keldabe and Coruscant. How would he ever make friends or have any sort of normal life? It reminded her of how lonely her own childhood was, before Winter became part of the Organa family. They didn't see each other often as adults, but they would always have that bond.

Leia looked down at the clothes in her hands. Of course they couldn't. She was crazy for even considering it.

She started to retrace her steps to the 'fresher, stopping to get a clean towel out of the hall closet. Through the open door she could see the tattered blanket on the floor, and Fett kneeling beside the tub as he lowered the boy into the water. Jonah pressed against his arm, pulling at his shoulder guard. "Pick me up, Da." Fett put his arm around him and lifted their son onto his knee. Jonah cast a suspicious look toward their guest. "_My_ Da," he said sternly.

"Your Da," Fett agreed. He pointed to the boy in the tub. "Your brother._ Gar vod_."

Leia fumbled the towel and almost dropped it, sure she must have heard wrong.

"Gar-vod," Jonah tried, his anger becoming fascination. "My brother." He slid off of Fett's knee and picked up a bath sponge, leaning over the edge of the tub with a determined expression. "Wash him. Wash my brother." The boy edged back warily, his arms wrapped around his bony knees. Fett sat back into a crouch and removed his helmet, setting it on the floor beside him.

Leia moved slowly to the doorway, mindful of their audience but unable to keep the tension completely out of her voice. "You don't think you should have asked me first?"

There was a split second of hesitation before he looked up at her. "It wouldn't have changed anything."

She didn't want to fight in front of Jonah, so she held up her hand and crooked her index finger, her voice artificially pleasant. "Could I speak to you in the hallway, please?"

He stood and followed her slowly out of the 'fresher, leaving the door open. "You're angry."

"Oh, do you think?" She replied bitingly.

"You were adopted," he said. "You've spoken favorably about it in the past. And since it's unlikely that we'll have more biological offspring-"

"That's not why I'm angry." He was silent, concentrating hard on her face as if there was a puzzle there he could unlock. "I want to know why, Boba."

"His people died by my order. It's the right thing to do."

"I'm sure you've made orphans before," she said grimly, her fingers knotting together. "I'm glad you rescued him, I really am. But you made up your mind to do this without even asking me what I think, and that makes me wonder…" It hit her then, with such devastating force that she sagged back against the wall. "Oh _no_."

"Leia?"

"You found yourself another son. One that could never grow up to be a Jedi."

Fett moved closer, finding and holding her gaze. "Jonah is my son. I would never try to replace him."

She wanted to believe him. She really, really did.

"I'm sorry," he said abruptly, and for the second time she found herself staring dumbly at him in shock.

"What did you say?"

"I'm sorry." If he was aware that he'd never said those words to her before, his face didn't show it. "I should have asked you. He needs a family, and I want to adopt him. Will you consider it?"

There was a splash that made them both jump and hurry back to the 'fresher. Jonah was sitting in the tub now, clothes and all. He laughed and smacked his hands down on the water. "Bath time," he said, thrusting the sponge out towards the boy. Leia quickly intercepted it.

"Back off," she told her son. The boy hadn't moved an inch, but he stared up at her with wide green eyes. She thought his hair might be red under the mats and tangles. "Hey there," she said gently. "Can you tell us your name?"

He stared at her blankly, so she tried the question again in Mando'a. Still no response. She brushed the sponge gently over the back of his hand. "Does that feel soft? Would you like to hold it?" Slowly his hand uncurled and wrapped around the sponge. He tried to put it in his mouth. "No, no," Leia chided, smiling in spite of herself. "That's not food. Silly boy."

He looked up at her, and a very small smile pushed up at the corners of his mouth. "_Poodoo_."

Leia exchanged a quick look with Fett. "Your Huttese is better than mine." Her husband complied.

The boy's eyes lit up, this time he understood the question. "Kid," he said proudly.

Oh, godsdamnit. She looked up at her husband, who had the good sense not to openly celebrate his victory. "_Chowbasa_, Kid," she said to the boy. "I'm not sure if we're doing you any favors by bringing you into our family, but you're welcome just the same." She turned back to Jonah and started wrestling him out of his wet clothes. "Luke could send Threepio out to help."

Fett stiffened behind her. "I told you before, I don't want a machine looking after my son."

"That's too bad," Leia returned shortly. "Because suddenly we have twins, and I can barely keep up with Jonah. We'll need the help." She turned her head and gave him a level stare. "This is not negotiable."

"My opinion doesn't matter?" There was an edge of anger in his voice.

"Of course it matters."Leia was unable to resist injecting a little saccharine edge into her voice. "It just doesn't change anything. Here, take Jonah's clothes to the laundry bin and then put that old blanket in the disposal. Dinner will be here any minute." She arched her eyebrows, daring him to argue. "And happy birthday."


End file.
